Lanai Rooftop Lounge

by Alex B.

Great views, great music, great atmosphere, and great crowd, in a "we're unattached yuppies with cash to burn, so let's do some coke, some whores, some coke-whores, and maybe cap the evening off with a little Patrick Bateman-style posedown in my downtown condo while I practice my chainsaw moves and listen to Wagner" kind of way.

by James L.

This place is located in a good area I think, but then it's kinda far away from other locations people frequent. I think Lanai's tries to be high class and high standards.... I approach the place on a Tuesday night because my friends didn't want to chill and wanted to be at a place with dance music. The bouncer asks, "is your name on the list?" Of course not, it's a effing Tuesday night! "it's ok, go on in."Then you climb like two flights of stairs and you approach the rooftops. Everybody is dressed nice... some a bit douchey, but that's cool. Some people like that. The prices weren't outrageous, but higher than I'd expect on a Tuesday night, but not bad. I think if you're really wanting to dance... or roll, you can totally hit this place up. The music was techno/dance/beat/electronica. Kinda fun to dance to at first and much more fun to dance to if drunk. Also, they let you smoke because it's technically outdoors. So that's a plus for the smokers.

by J P.

Fun little spot. Love being outdoors in Austin. The sound system is lagging and the people are a bit much. The music line up needs some help as well. Not a spot I would frequent but nice to get outside once in a while.

by Carrie W.

A night on the town with the girls started at Lanai.....I totally expected to hate this place...as a general rule, I avoid the "Bottle Bars" downtown, I guess I feel I have outgrown the bars where the "pretty people" hang out, but I ended up really enjoying myself.We had a big party and reserved a corner of the patio which was draped in curtains and surrounded by padded benches/couches.  It was a beautiful night and Lanai's rooftop deck seemed to be a perfect place to enjoy it.  Our waitress was very friendly and very attentive, making sure the champagne and cocktails were flowing.  We chose not to go for the bottle of vodka after seeing the $225 price tag....  Even if all 15 of us decided to buy a bottle together, it still wouldn't have been worth it at over $10 a drink.....I would just assume grab a bottle at Specs and hang some curtains on my own patio and save $200.All in all, Lanai was a very nice spot to start our evening.and if anyone else was wondering, as I was last night, Jeans are perfectly appropriate! :)

by Amber D.

Now, the grand opening cupcake and queso celebration (complete with tropical cocktails and jelly belly beans) made me really set on liking this place...Taking turns with a friend grinding on a cougar in a velveteen leopard dress last night...  ehhh... it was suddenly less cool.They got my champagne-in-a-can for about $6 but pour it out of the can in a fancy-flute complete with plastic-toothpick speared strawberries.If Playmate-wanna-be's (no seriously, this isn't a dig, there were lots of hot, blonde, and REALLY TAN women), dudes in blazers, and that one cougar in the tight dress appeal to you, I say go.  They have really great drinks (I'm not kidding on the drinks), it's a super cozy rooftop lounge that they manage to keep toasty in the winter, and I actually will go back (for the cougar and some Sofia).

by ZestyRed T.

GREAT sangrias, fabulous laid back attitude where anything goes, Island feel, pleasant bartenders, comfy corner couches.  Not bad on the DJ-in..... heck last Friday night we couldn't STOP dancing.  The fans and misters are divine!  Plus the fact that my grandfather was born in Hawai'i, it makes me feel like I'm there if even for a moment.

by Christena R.

Went to Lanai for the Grand Opening party on Thursday night, and had an ok time.  The space was pretty, but I'm not sure it looked as nice in person as it does on their website.  However, the scenery was pretty obstructed by the ten million people there getting their free drink on.  The specialty drinks were creative, but poured awfully strong.  Now, I'm not one to judge free cocktails, but they were really too strong to even enjoy.  The DJ and crowd were good, so we'll see.  I didn't love it, but I'll definitely give it another shot.  I'm sure on a regular night when customers are actually paying, the crowd will be smaller and a lot more tolerable.  Only horrible note:  SMOKING!!!  Is this even legal here???

by James L.Sasha T.Anna S.Glen F.Jessica A.

This place is located in a good area I think, but then it's kinda far away from other locations people frequent. I think Lanai's tries to be high class and high standards.... I approach the place on a Tuesday night because my friends didn't want to chill and wanted to be at a place with dance music. The bouncer asks, "is your name on the list?" Of course not, it's a effing Tuesday night! "it's ok, go on in."Then you climb like two flights of stairs and you approach the rooftops. Everybody is dressed nice... some a bit douchey, but that's cool. Some people like that. The prices weren't outrageous, but higher than I'd expect on a Tuesday night, but not bad. I think if you're really wanting to dance... or roll, you can totally hit this place up. The music was techno/dance/beat/electronica. Kinda fun to dance to at first and much more fun to dance to if drunk. Also, they let you smoke because it's technically outdoors. So that's a plus for the smokers.Oooh Lanaiiii, if you were a person, I'd claim you as one of my newest BF's. :)HUGE rooftop patio, very loungey feel to it. I like the vibes this place gives. It's not insane, and it's not lame. It's just perfect, and the music is a huge plus. Sometimes the bars don't go hand in hand with music and atmosphere. This place kinda pulls together all in one. Bartenders were SUPER cute and sweet. ;)I shall return. This is a great place for meeting grounds...things like birthdays, and whatnot.P.S. Even though I claim to love, love, love this bar...just be aware, that there seem to be an awful lot of people who think they're VIP here..when they're really not. C'mon, Austin..this is AUSTIN...Not some yuppie club in Hollywood. K, Thx!My whirlwind of a Saturday night took me and a group of 6 other friends to Lanai (one of 6 or 7 places that night?). I had been here a while ago and was happy to re-visit. Our group was a motley crew of preppies, hipsters, and people that just wanted to DANCE. Lanai was the first, if not only place that night that we all had a good time. The music was fabulous-all of us were dancing. Had my 4 inch heels not been on for hours already, I'm sure I would have been busting even more moves out. The crowd was a pleasant mix of styles, ages, and people in general. It was nice to be in a plce where it wasn't SO mainstream with everyone dressing/talking/looking alike. It seemed more fitting of Austin where it's more of a melting pot of people. Highlights-- great location- beautiful ambience complete with flowing drapes, misters, and pretty glassware (sounds dumb, but that made me happy)- the staff was efficient and cordial at the same time--very appreciated with how busy (and hot!) it was up thereSo thank you, Lanai--for being one of the high points of my crazy Saturday tour de Austin.This should be a fantastic place. I would love to love it. Open-air, right downtown on Congress, great views, comfy couches, stylish decor.But it's not. Smokers, you kill it for me. (And I'd bet I'm speaking for a *lot* of Austinites when I say that.) The lanai isn't so open that it doesn't get choked with cigarette nastiness, as it will every night once enough cancer-lovers have arrived. And they apparently never take the night off. Also, it gets so crowded that the waitresses get overwhelmed, and you can have a frustrating wait at the bar too. I think the staff are trying their best but, at least on the nights I've been, they just couldn't keep up.First time here my friends and I were the only customers in the place, so at least we approved of the clientele! The martinis were well crafted and the large comfy couches make this lounge legit. But obviously we couldn't get a true feel for the vibe of the place when it was as empty as a Pizza Hut in Italy.So last night we were walking by on our way to somewhere else and were instead lured into Lanai by the beats pulsating from the rooftop (ala Daetron Vergas). Austin is sorely lacking in the house music category so we were pumped to get our dance on. The crowd was a mixed bag and there was definitely some Dbaggery going on. One guy actually had the nerve to tell my friend, who was cutting up the dance floor bare foot and fancy free that her fun lovin' sprinkler and lawnmower moves were "not cool"!  Meanwhile most everyone else was dancing as though they were listening to the Barry Manilow in their head or too-cool-for-school to even attempt anything other than sipping their cocktails with a disdainful expression. Fortunately we had enough in our group to own the floor and truly had a blast. Of course the true measure of a bar is in its women's restroom, and Lanai takes the cake with their pretty stone sinks reminiscent of a babbling brook and glass platform on which to rest your drink. They put the "rest" back into restroom! I'd totally hang out in a room like this even if it wasn't necessitated by the fact that my bladder is apparently the size of a kidney bean. I'd bring a book and a floaty.

by Alon B.

I honestly thought Speakeasy had the most annoyingly long staircase in the city of Austin. Speakeasy, hand your crown over to Lanai.After searching for a Sherpa to help me ascend the staircase I finally gave up and made the ascent on my own. Lanai has a very nice rooftop patio with a very nice view but it really felt unfinished. The music was good and the 5 bartenders they had in their small bar area were friendly and nice but the bar seemed to lack an overall identity. It felt to me like it would have been a much better place if it had a downstairs as well just as an option but clearly the Marq occupies that space and Prague the space under the Marq so that won't happen any time soon.Overall I give it a ranking of 3 stars. I personally wouldn't choose it as a primary destination but if friends wanted to meet there I wouldn't complain. Pros - great view of congress, nice bartenders, good drinkscons - Any area other than the bar and the railing overlooking congress can be a little meh.

by Glen F.

This should be a fantastic place. I would love to love it. Open-air, right downtown on Congress, great views, comfy couches, stylish decor.But it's not. Smokers, you kill it for me. (And I'd bet I'm speaking for a *lot* of Austinites when I say that.) The lanai isn't so open that it doesn't get choked with cigarette nastiness, as it will every night once enough cancer-lovers have arrived. And they apparently never take the night off. Also, it gets so crowded that the waitresses get overwhelmed, and you can have a frustrating wait at the bar too. I think the staff are trying their best but, at least on the nights I've been, they just couldn't keep up.